It wouldn’t seem like Easter in Italy without lamb on the dinner table. But lamb is actually the preferred meat not only for Easter meal but throughout the Summer. Italians enjoy lamb braised, stewed, grilled or roasted. Roast leg of lamb is a classic. Serve it with seasonal vegetables such as artichokes or fresh green peas. Italians cook lamb well done, but more mature American lamb tastes best when medium-rare. Be sure to allow time for the meat to rest after roasting it so it remains juicy.

Even if Lago di Garda stretches across three Italian regions—Lombardy to the west, Veneto to the east, and Trentino Alto Adige to the north—each guards its regional differences zealously, as do all Italian regions, especially when it comes to food. Because we couldn’t take into account the different regional varieties in this short piece on local gastronomy, we chose to concentrate on Veneto.

Every country has its favorite customs to celebrate the New Year,including Italy. Insome places, old clothes, cracked dishes and even broken furnitureare tossed out the window at the stroke of twelve to symbolize clearing out the the old year and making way for the new. Anyone in Naples or Rome on New Year’s Eve should keep their eyes open to avoid bits of flying crockery or old socks.

Before the earthquake that devastated Amatrice and several other towns last August, the rural city northeast of Rome was perhaps best known for its iconic dish, Spaghetti all’Amatriciana. Ironically, the 50th Sagra degli Spaghetti all'Amatriciana was scheduled to occur the weekend of the tragedy.

Bombette are small rolls of thinly sliced pork wrapped around a tasty filling. These “little bombs” are popular at street fairs in Puglia where they are grilled over hot coals, served up in a paper cone, and eaten with bread. The hot bombette explode in your mouth releas- ing a wave of melted cheese and delicious flavors.

Raising sheephas always been one of the Abruzzo’s primary occupations so it is not surprising that both the meat and cheese they produce play an important role in the region’s hearty and rustic cooking.